The Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja, on Friday, suspended the execution of its judgement that reinstated a former Governor of the Central Bank, CBN, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, as the 16th Emir of Kano.
The appellate court, in a unanimous decision by a three-member panel led by Justice Okon Abang, halted the implementation of the judgement, to await the outcome of an appeal that is pending before the Supreme Court.
The court held that it found merit in applications marked: CA/KN/27M/2025 and CA/KN/28M/2025, which were brought before it in respect of the Kano Emirate tussle.
Specifically, the appellate court held that: “An injunction is hereby granted restraining the respondents (Kano State House of Assembly, Kano State Government, etc.), either by themselves, their agents, privies, servants, or personal representatives, from enforcing the judgment of this Court in Appeal No. CA/KN/126/2024 – Kano State House of Assembly & Anor Vs Alhaji Aminu Babba-Dan’Agundi & Others, delivered on 10/1/2025, pending the hearing and determination of the Applicant’s appeal filed on 24/1/2025 before the Supreme Court of Nigeria.”
The panel further directed the parties to maintain the status quo ante bellum, pending the judgement of the apex court, even as it gave the Applicant 48 hours to file an undertaking to indemnify the Respondents in damages, in the event that the orders ought not to have been made.
It will be recalled that the appellate court had on January 10, voided the June 20, 2024, decision of Justice Abubakar Liman of the Federal High Court, which invalidated the Kano State Emirates Council (Repeal) Law 2024 that facilitated Sanusi’s reappointment.
According to the appellate court, Justice Liman was bereft of the jurisdiction to nullify the steps the Kano State Government took pursuant to the 2024 Emirates Council Law.
It held that a fundamental rights enforcement suit that was filed by an aggrieved kingmaker in the state, Alhaji Aminu Babba Dan Agundi, which the high court judge relied upon to issue the order, was incompetent.